In today's lesson, we saw an example of the use of "assumptive language," which Dr. Tackett calls one of the most dangerous forms of communication for Christians. In general terms, "assumptive language" is a general, seemingly innocuous statement. However, the state requires agreement with other assumptions in order for the statement to be valid. This is an example of the kinds of deception and debauchery that trap Christians in today's society. Dr. Tackett's argument today is based on the truth claim of Colossians 2:8: "See to it that no one takes you captive, through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ." Dr. Tackett played an excerpt from a program called, "Cosmos" hosted by Carl Sagan. In the program, Dr. Sagan referred to the cosmos as "all that was or is or will ever be." He makes the argument that this is "all there is--that which is in the cosmos." He argues that there is nothing outside the box. If this is true, there is no God.
Basically, there are two views to consider. 1: God is, and he is reflected in creation and in His Word. 2. God is not and only those things inside the Cosmic Cube (matter, energy, man) are real. As Christians, we must ask ourself the question, "Do I live as if God is not?" We learned from our lesson and from God's Word that it is indeed possible for us to be taken captive by satan's lies and deception. The best way to guard against this danger is to examine ourselves constantly against the standard of God's Word. We need to examine our lives and see if our actions and behaviors reflect the beliefs we claim to hold.
Join us next week as we reflect on the question of ethics, "What is right? What is wrong?" We will also consider the issue of a postmodern society. Thanks for being a part of this class. See you next week!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
What is Truth?--Part 2 February 5, 2012
This week, we are watching the second half of the first lesson in The Truth Project. During the lesson last week, we looked at the question posed by Pilate as he judged Jesus, "What is truth?" Dr. Tackett suggests that this single question may be the most important question facing our society today. "What is truth?" In this week's lesson, we see further evidence that God is truth and that the "truth claims" of God are indeed real and valid. Today's lesson looks at the "truth claims" of God in several areas. For example, where God calls for unity, such as in marriage, the world seeks division. Where God requires diversity such as marriage between a man and a woman, the world seems to at least tolerate unification. Where God demands roles, man demonstrates jealousy. Where God calls for responsibility, we live in a culture of blame. When God speaks from authority, we tend to engage in rebellion. When God calls for delegation, we choose tryanny. When God encourages freedom, man chooses bondage to sin and evil. All of the traits proposed by God lead to peace, prosperity, and happiness. All of the traits pursued by the world are illogical, inconsistent, and lead to disorder and death.
If we ask the question, "Who is man?", God says he is created in the image of God, a spiritual being. Yet, the world argues that man is a random creation from the goo of a primordial soup and evolved into his present state. God says man is fallen and is naturally sinful. Yet, the world suggests that man is basically good.
Yes, all of these paradoxes reflect the elements of the Cosmic Battle--good vs. evil, righteous vs. unrighteous, and the truth vs. the lie of satan. Yet, we learn in this week's lesson that the ultimate source of truth is God himself (Col. 2: 2-3). Behind every truth claim of God is the very character and being of God, Jehova, Jireh. We are expected to demonstrate faith in the truth claims of God. We saw a good example of faith like a little child in the lesson today when we say a young child walk to the end of diving board and jump into the waiting arms of his mom who was waiting patiently in the pool. How can you and I demonstrate such faith this week? I hope you will join me in pondering this question this week: "Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?" Dr. Tackett reminds us that we all act based on on what we really perceive to be real. If we believe what God says, we will act based on His guidance.
If we ask the question, "Who is man?", God says he is created in the image of God, a spiritual being. Yet, the world argues that man is a random creation from the goo of a primordial soup and evolved into his present state. God says man is fallen and is naturally sinful. Yet, the world suggests that man is basically good.
Yes, all of these paradoxes reflect the elements of the Cosmic Battle--good vs. evil, righteous vs. unrighteous, and the truth vs. the lie of satan. Yet, we learn in this week's lesson that the ultimate source of truth is God himself (Col. 2: 2-3). Behind every truth claim of God is the very character and being of God, Jehova, Jireh. We are expected to demonstrate faith in the truth claims of God. We saw a good example of faith like a little child in the lesson today when we say a young child walk to the end of diving board and jump into the waiting arms of his mom who was waiting patiently in the pool. How can you and I demonstrate such faith this week? I hope you will join me in pondering this question this week: "Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?" Dr. Tackett reminds us that we all act based on on what we really perceive to be real. If we believe what God says, we will act based on His guidance.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
The Truth Project--Round 2 "What is Truth?"
For those of you who were with us the last time we studied The Truth Project, this will be a review and a more in-depth study of some profound truths. For those of you who were not with us last time, I hope that this study will be one that brings awareness and understanding to the issues created by the constant paradox of the world's view of almost every conceivable issue versus the perspective outlined in the Word of God. According to Dr. Del Tackett, the author and father of The Truth Project, the perspective of contemporary culture stands in direct opposition to the Truth-centered worldview presented in the Bible. Dr. Tackett advances the bold claim that our culture is not only filled with lies but is actually heading in the direction of social insanity. Consequently, he proposes that Pilate's question in John 18:38, "What is truth?" is actually the most important question facing our society today.
Dr. Tackett argues that every sin can be traced to belief in the lie. The cosmic battle of the truth versus the lie of satan is at the center of good and evil, spiritual and material, and the Children of God versus the children of the devil. I hope you will join us in the next four or five months as we again study the Word of God and compare and contrast the teaching of truth in almost every area of human endeavor to the lies of our society and the deception of satan.
The Scriptures referenced in this first part of the study: "Truth" are listed below for your reference:
Isaiah 6:1-8, John 18: 33-38, Matt. 5:18, Matt. 10:15, Matt. 13:17, Matt. 16:28, Matt. 17:20, Matt. 18: 3, 18, Matt. 19:23, Matt. 21:21, Matt. 23:36, Matt. 24:2, Matt. 25:40, Matt. 26:21, Matt. 26:34, John 3:3, John 3:5, John 3:11, John 5: 19, 24, 25, John 1:17, John 14:6, John 6:26, 32, 47, 53, John 8:34, 51, 58, John 17:17, John 4:24, John 8:32, John 14: 16-17, John 16:13, 1 Tim 2:3-4, Eph 6:14, Isaiah 59:4, Jer. 7:28, Isaiah 59:15, 1 Tim. 6:13, 2 Tim. 4:3-4, Rom 1:18, Acts 20:30, Rom 2:8, Rom. 1:25, 1 John 4:6, Job 1 & 2, 2 Thess 2:9-13, John 8:34-47, Rom.7:11, 2 Thess. 2:10, Eph. 4:22, Heb.3:13, 1 John 3:10, 2 Tim. 2:24-26, Col. 4:5-6, Isaiah 44:18-20, Isaiah 44:17, Matt. 6: 25-34, Col. 2:2-4.
Dr. Tackett argues that every sin can be traced to belief in the lie. The cosmic battle of the truth versus the lie of satan is at the center of good and evil, spiritual and material, and the Children of God versus the children of the devil. I hope you will join us in the next four or five months as we again study the Word of God and compare and contrast the teaching of truth in almost every area of human endeavor to the lies of our society and the deception of satan.
The Scriptures referenced in this first part of the study: "Truth" are listed below for your reference:
Isaiah 6:1-8, John 18: 33-38, Matt. 5:18, Matt. 10:15, Matt. 13:17, Matt. 16:28, Matt. 17:20, Matt. 18: 3, 18, Matt. 19:23, Matt. 21:21, Matt. 23:36, Matt. 24:2, Matt. 25:40, Matt. 26:21, Matt. 26:34, John 3:3, John 3:5, John 3:11, John 5: 19, 24, 25, John 1:17, John 14:6, John 6:26, 32, 47, 53, John 8:34, 51, 58, John 17:17, John 4:24, John 8:32, John 14: 16-17, John 16:13, 1 Tim 2:3-4, Eph 6:14, Isaiah 59:4, Jer. 7:28, Isaiah 59:15, 1 Tim. 6:13, 2 Tim. 4:3-4, Rom 1:18, Acts 20:30, Rom 2:8, Rom. 1:25, 1 John 4:6, Job 1 & 2, 2 Thess 2:9-13, John 8:34-47, Rom.7:11, 2 Thess. 2:10, Eph. 4:22, Heb.3:13, 1 John 3:10, 2 Tim. 2:24-26, Col. 4:5-6, Isaiah 44:18-20, Isaiah 44:17, Matt. 6: 25-34, Col. 2:2-4.
Monday, January 16, 2012
WHEN LESS IS MORE--January 15, 2012
As I mentioned during our lesson this week, I contemplated not showing this week's lesson due to the fact that the lesson appeared to target the business arena and, in my opinion, really did not speak to family issues. However, after finally deciding to use this week's lesson from Andy Stanley's series on "Time", I was pleased to have several members of our class express their appreciation for this lesson. God always uses His Word and our commitment to Him to give us insight to His Plan and His expectations for our life.
In this week's lesson, Andy used the story of Moses being given advice by his father-in-law Jethro to help us understand some important principles about the use of time in our organizations--NOT THE FAMILY. As you recall, Jethro criticized Moses for spending all of his time acting as the judge or referee for the everyday disputes that arose among the children of Israel. He suggested an organizational chart that placed others in positions of responsibility and freed Moses for more significant duties assigned by God. The first principle that Andy Stanley articulated this week was: "My fully exploited strengths are of far greater value to my organization than my marginally improved weaknesses." He interprets the following principle for making our best contribution to a society in which we might work: "Discover what you're not good at and eliminate those things from your schedule." Next, he suggests, "Identify areas where you make the greatest contribution" and "give your best time to what makes the biggest impact." Finally, the last principle to improve your organization is to "develop other leaders." If you wish to learn more about the Biblical Principles of time that Andy has identified, you may wish to visit www.northpoint.org/time
It was good to see so many of our group there this week. Hope to see you all Sunday.
Jimmy and Cindy
In this week's lesson, Andy used the story of Moses being given advice by his father-in-law Jethro to help us understand some important principles about the use of time in our organizations--NOT THE FAMILY. As you recall, Jethro criticized Moses for spending all of his time acting as the judge or referee for the everyday disputes that arose among the children of Israel. He suggested an organizational chart that placed others in positions of responsibility and freed Moses for more significant duties assigned by God. The first principle that Andy Stanley articulated this week was: "My fully exploited strengths are of far greater value to my organization than my marginally improved weaknesses." He interprets the following principle for making our best contribution to a society in which we might work: "Discover what you're not good at and eliminate those things from your schedule." Next, he suggests, "Identify areas where you make the greatest contribution" and "give your best time to what makes the biggest impact." Finally, the last principle to improve your organization is to "develop other leaders." If you wish to learn more about the Biblical Principles of time that Andy has identified, you may wish to visit www.northpoint.org/time
It was good to see so many of our group there this week. Hope to see you all Sunday.
Jimmy and Cindy
Monday, January 9, 2012
Compounding the Minutes--January 8, 2012
Wow! It seems like it has been a very long time since we met as a Sunday School Class. It was good to get back in the swing of things this week. We returned to the Andy Stanley series on "TIME." The third message in the series deals with "Compoinding the Minutes." The lesson is based on the teaching in Ephesians 5:15.
Andy shares three things about time that we already know, but tend to ignore:
1) There is a cumulative value to investing small amounts of time in certain activities over a long period. Neglect is cumulative as well.
2) There is no immediate benefit to any single installment of time and no immediate consequence if we skip an installment of time.
3) There is no cumulative value to the random things we opt for over the things we know to be important.
Many of us have heard parents and grandparents refer to Ephesians 5:15 with the phrase, "Redeem your time." Andy interpets this scripture as, "Cash in your time for something of equal value." Another important concept from today's lesson is that anything that relates to your time is a spiritual matter.
Where do you need to begin making time deposits?
Spiritual?
Physical?
Relationships?
What is your biggest obstacle? A manifestation of God's life in you is self-control. What are you willing to do about it?
Thanks to Bo Miles for recommending a great little book that relates to this issue of time and prioritizing our activities: The Tyranny of the Urgent by Charles Hummel. It can be accessed at Amazon.com.
Have a great week. Redeem the time!
Andy shares three things about time that we already know, but tend to ignore:
1) There is a cumulative value to investing small amounts of time in certain activities over a long period. Neglect is cumulative as well.
2) There is no immediate benefit to any single installment of time and no immediate consequence if we skip an installment of time.
3) There is no cumulative value to the random things we opt for over the things we know to be important.
Many of us have heard parents and grandparents refer to Ephesians 5:15 with the phrase, "Redeem your time." Andy interpets this scripture as, "Cash in your time for something of equal value." Another important concept from today's lesson is that anything that relates to your time is a spiritual matter.
Where do you need to begin making time deposits?
Spiritual?
Physical?
Relationships?
What is your biggest obstacle? A manifestation of God's life in you is self-control. What are you willing to do about it?
Thanks to Bo Miles for recommending a great little book that relates to this issue of time and prioritizing our activities: The Tyranny of the Urgent by Charles Hummel. It can be accessed at Amazon.com.
Have a great week. Redeem the time!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
A Magical, Mystical Christmas Party
I hope you will mark your calendars and plan to join us for our annual Sunday School Christmas Party on December 17 @ 6:30 p.m. We are thrilled to have a commitment from the great magician the Magical Holmdini (Marty Holmes) to provide some interesting entertainment for our party. The sign-up form will be available in Sunday School and will be sent out via e-mail later this week.
The Thrill of Hope--Zachariah's Story
I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday with your family. Cindy and I drove to Baytown several times, but we were able to visit with my parents and family, with our girls, and with Cindy's Mom and family. This week, we had Cindy's sister and her husband join us in College Station for some culture--we took them to see "A Tuna Christmas."
In the two weeks prior to Thanksgiving, we have been watching Andy Stanley's series on "TIME." We will return to this series for the final three messages after the Christmas Season. However, beginning this week, we will be looking at Andy Stanley's series called "The Thrill of Hope." This is a message series leading us to the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This week's message is called, "Zachariah's Story."
Andy reminds us of the many Christmas Mornings that we experienced as children in which the waiting for that special day seemed to be unbearable. It seemed as if Christmas would never get here. Do you remember those days? Do your children now wait anxiously as you and I once did? Andy uses this illustration to explain the promise of the certainty of Christmas Morning and how the dynamic of waiting....waiting...waiting... set up the first Christmas. There were a group of Jewish people who lived their lives waiting everyday for the fulfillment of prophecy which promised the delivery of a Messiah. These devout Jewish believers had been living this way, waiting for the Messiah for hundreds of years, yet still waiting and expecting the Messiah to appear in their lives. Certainly, they began to experience that feeling that many of us felt as we waited for Christmas Day when we were youngsters...when will it EVER get here? Even in our Christian Experience, we may feel the same emotions that the Jews who were expecting the Messiah certainly felt at some point. After waiting and waiting, God seems to be quiet. He seems to be so silent that we begin to question and may actually doubt.
Then, in Luke, Chapter 1, beginning in Verse 5, we see the story of a priest and his wife who "walked blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord." We see the story of an angel appearing to the priest and promising a son who would become the "forerunner" of the promised Messiah. Yet, this promise of a son appeared to be highly unlikely when one considered the age of the parents and the years of infertility that had haunted them throughout their married life. Yet, the story of Zachariah is a story of God's promise being delivered. It is an example of how God can be trusted to deliver what He promises.
Christmas is also a reminder that your faith in God is not misplaced. God pays attention and is moved by and blessed by those that remain faithful...even when the waiting seems unbearably long. After hundreds of years of waiting, God sent a Messiah on that first Christmas night. Halleujah! Christ, the Savior is born!
In the two weeks prior to Thanksgiving, we have been watching Andy Stanley's series on "TIME." We will return to this series for the final three messages after the Christmas Season. However, beginning this week, we will be looking at Andy Stanley's series called "The Thrill of Hope." This is a message series leading us to the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This week's message is called, "Zachariah's Story."
Andy reminds us of the many Christmas Mornings that we experienced as children in which the waiting for that special day seemed to be unbearable. It seemed as if Christmas would never get here. Do you remember those days? Do your children now wait anxiously as you and I once did? Andy uses this illustration to explain the promise of the certainty of Christmas Morning and how the dynamic of waiting....waiting...waiting... set up the first Christmas. There were a group of Jewish people who lived their lives waiting everyday for the fulfillment of prophecy which promised the delivery of a Messiah. These devout Jewish believers had been living this way, waiting for the Messiah for hundreds of years, yet still waiting and expecting the Messiah to appear in their lives. Certainly, they began to experience that feeling that many of us felt as we waited for Christmas Day when we were youngsters...when will it EVER get here? Even in our Christian Experience, we may feel the same emotions that the Jews who were expecting the Messiah certainly felt at some point. After waiting and waiting, God seems to be quiet. He seems to be so silent that we begin to question and may actually doubt.
Then, in Luke, Chapter 1, beginning in Verse 5, we see the story of a priest and his wife who "walked blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord." We see the story of an angel appearing to the priest and promising a son who would become the "forerunner" of the promised Messiah. Yet, this promise of a son appeared to be highly unlikely when one considered the age of the parents and the years of infertility that had haunted them throughout their married life. Yet, the story of Zachariah is a story of God's promise being delivered. It is an example of how God can be trusted to deliver what He promises.
Christmas is also a reminder that your faith in God is not misplaced. God pays attention and is moved by and blessed by those that remain faithful...even when the waiting seems unbearably long. After hundreds of years of waiting, God sent a Messiah on that first Christmas night. Halleujah! Christ, the Savior is born!
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